AUGUSTA, Ga. - At precisely 1:42 p.m. local time, today, the starter at Augusta National announced "Fore, please. Tiger Woods now driving."

At that, a crowd worthy of a ticker-tape parade exploded with applause.

Moments later, Woods striped a drive just to the left of the foreboding bunker guarding the right side of the No. 1 fairway. This most intriguing of Masters for him had begun.

What the most polarizing figure in golf does the rest of his first round is up to him, and perhaps the weather. The forecast is calling for rain later in the afternoon. The wind has been blowing at a steady 25-30 mph gust for the last couple of hours.